Electronic Health Technology Views and News

CHIME Launches Two New Organizations to Serve Professional Needs of Chief Technology Officers and Chief Application Officers in Healthcare

The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) announced today the launch of two new organizations to serve the education and professional development needs of healthcare executives in senior technology and application roles.

The Association for Executives in Healthcare Information Technology (AEHIT) and the Association for Executives in Healthcare Information Applications (AEHIA) are the first professional organizations representing chief technology officers (CTOs) and chief application officers (CAOs) in the healthcare setting. Formed to address an unmet need in the industry, AEHIT and AEHIA will provide educational resources on important healthcare technology and IT application-focused issues, as well as an environment where CTOs and CAOs can communicate with, inform, and educate one another. These follow the recent creation and launch of AEHIS, the Association for Executives in Healthcare Information Security to serve healthcare CSOs.

“With the establishment of these two new organizations, CHIME has taken an active role in providing these healthcare leaders an opportunity to pool their collective knowledge and advance their skills,” said CHIME Board Chair Randy McCleese, FCHIME, LCHIME, CHCIO. “CIOs are increasingly relying on leaders like CTOs, CAOs and CSOs in order to deliver and manage a complex technology environment, so collaboration among these highly-accomplished individuals is essential to furthering industry solutions and opportunities.”

“Both of these new organizations will help strengthen the CTO and CAO roles in order to meet the challenges created by the rapid and unprecedented changes in healthcare technology,” said CHIME Executive Vice President of Membership and Professional Development George W. McCulloch, FCHIME, CHCIO. “Our goal is to provide the education and collaboration necessary for these leaders so they can solve issues, share best-practices, and form meaningful, supportive relationships with their peers.”

AEHIT and AEHIA will operate as separate membership associations under the umbrella of CHIME, a professional organization dedicated to serving healthcare chief information officers (CIOs) and other senior IT leaders. AEHIT and AEHIA members will benefit from CHIME’s twenty-two year history in delivering valuable, high-quality leadership education and networking opportunities.

“CHIME is committed to not only supporting healthcare CIOs, but also those on the CIO’s executive team,” said CHIME President and CEO Russell P. Branzell, FCHIME, CHCIO. “The CHIME Board recognized our industry’s need for the professional development and peer-to-peer needs of CTOs and CAOs, where professional development educational resources for these individuals were lacking.”

Interested CTOs and CAOs that apply and are accepted before December 31, 2014 will be recognized as founding members and will receive a one-year complimentary membership. For more information, please visit www.aehit.org and www.aehia.org.

About CHIME
The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) is an executive organization dedicated to serving chief information officers and other senior healthcare IT leaders. With more than 1,400 CIO members and over 140 healthcare IT vendors and professional services firms, CHIME provides a highly interactive, trusted environment enabling senior professional and industry leaders to collaborate; exchange best practices; address professional development needs; and advocate the effective use of information management to improve the health and healthcare in the communities they serve. For more information, please visit www.cio-chime.org.